David Friedman

Former deputy director, Clean Vehicles

David Friedman is an engineer with expertise on fuel efficiency, alternative fuel, battery, fuel cell, and hybrid electric vehicle technologies and the policies needed to turn them into real solutions for U.S. oil dependence, air pollution and global warming. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and is a Ph.D. candidate in transportation technology and policy.

David's Latest Posts

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently published a very misleading op-ed on electric cars. Given their similar history on climate change and oil subsidies, I’m sure this shocks you as much as would a dog bites man story. But the frequency of opinion pieces in the Journal and other publications that are peddling bogus memes around electric vehicles (EVs) calls for continued push back. Read more >

During President Obama’s State of the Union address, he spoke to the importance of cutting America’s oil use. As part of that, he proposed the creation of an Energy Security Trust that would use revenues from oil and gas production to invest in research for clean vehicle technology. The goal: to “shift our cars and trucks off oil for good” and “free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long.”

So, would a proposed trust help or hurt efforts to cut oil use? Or is it too soon to tell? Read more >

I’m a big believer in competition and robust debates. Competition is at the core of America’s DNA, and the foundation of science is asking difficult questions and challenging the answers. But, when it comes to the future of electric cars, the brewing battle between backers of plug-in hybrid, battery, and fuel cell electric vehicles could leave oil companies as the big winners. Read more >

During his first term, President Obama made history by setting the first ever global warming emissions standards for both cars and trucks and putting our nation on a course to double new vehicle fuel economy by 2025, fulfilling his 2008 campaign promise to cut oil use 2.5 million barrels per day. Now it is time for him to cement his legacy on oil by going where none of his predecessors have gone before — President Obama must commit the nation to a realistic path to cut our projected oil use in half over the next twenty years. Read more >